Insomnia
by AnimeWolfGirl9
Summary: Yu often stayed up at night when Mika failed to come home before dark. The other orphans had no trouble sleeping, but he had a mild case of insomnia. (Yu and Mika brother fluff)


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Seraph of the End; everything belongs to its respective owner(s).**

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Insomnia

Yuichiro found that some nights, he just couldn't sleep. Most of the other children belonging to the former orphanage had little issues with their nightly routines, but he was different. Especially on the rare nights that Mika would come home after dark.

The black-haired boy never knew where Mika went, nor what he was doing. He always seemed exhausted when he came back, but that never stopped the blonde boy from smiling when Yu saw him. Some part of him was annoyed; how could the other boy stay so happy all the time? It wasn't like their pasts were any secret; they both had been through tough times. How, then, could Mika remain so positive?

The answer never presented itself to him though, and he found that on restless nights his mind would wander. He would be trapped in a cycle of half-sleep; dozing off every few minutes before he would wake again, staring at the ceiling of the 'house' the children shared.

On the nights that Yu could sleep, he sometimes dreamed. What he dreamed about was never pleasant: what had transpired at his home or running back to the orphanage with people dropping dead around him. He never forgot that night when the vampires had promised to 'protect' them.

_What good has come from their 'protection'? That's just a lie. They're all just selfish._ He thought irritably as sleep evaded him once again. His lack of sleep directed his annoyance at the absent blonde. Why couldn't Mika just come home at a normal time? What was so important that he had to stay out late during the night?

Once, Yu had gotten slightly concerned enough to try and follow the other boy. Mika had turned him back with a smile though, telling him to not concern himself with what was happening, so long as everyone was safe and happy… _He's putting the entire burden on himself;_ Yu shifted on the rotten cot, turning so that he could partially see the other end of the room. _One of these days, I'll be strong enough so we can all escape. We can get rid of the vampires and then Mika won't have to work himself ragged._

A sound stopped his train of thought. It was faint, the slight clicking of a door being closed. Footsteps, which should have sounded light, were heavier than usual. Yu closed his eyes, turning away from the figure that was slowly making its way towards the bed. He didn't have to see in order to know what would happen next.

The figure climbed up the ladder leading to the cot, making Yu open his eyes half-way. Extra weight was added to the old cot faster than he had expected. He shifted again, this time fully focusing on the added presence. What he saw only irritated him further.

Mika was half-slumped against the cot, not quite completely on it yet. The blonde boy's breaths were labored, and his hair was a mess. There was a strange look in his eyes, but it quickly changed to cheerful again when he saw Yu. Another smile – this one just a bit less uplifting – appeared on the blonde's face.

"Hi, Yu. Can't sleep?" Mika asked in a friendly whisper, careful not to wake the others. Yu closed his eyes, still slightly annoyed. Yes, Mika had completely guessed that he couldn't sleep, but it wasn't like the other orphan had to concern himself with that. Maybe that's what irritated him the most: Mika had always been trying to make things the best they could be, despite any personal cost.

"You were gone longer than last time," Yu stated, ignoring the feeling that ran through him when Mika finally got himself onto the cot. He should have been able to do it easily enough, which just proved how exhausted he was. Yu wouldn't be surprised if the blonde fell asleep within minutes.

"Was I?" Mika gave a small laugh at what he said; lying down a few inches away from the black-haired boy, "guess I really didn't keep an eye on the time. Gomennasai if I worried you."

Yu didn't answer to the apology, despite knowing that – even if he didn't really want to admit it – he had been worried this time. It wasn't like they had clocks in their dwelling, so he could only really generalize the time with the different positions of the sun and moon, but the time had seemed longer.

There was a period of time in which they didn't talk; Yu thought that the blonde had fallen asleep perhaps. He was starting to doze off again when Mika shifted on the bed.

"You're having trouble sleeping again," the blonde orphan whispered, breaking through the fog that had almost taken him to sleep. Yu let a small sigh escape from him, finding that he wouldn't be able to sleep now.

"Seems like I'm not the only one," he mumbled, still half-asleep as he sat up with a yawn. Mika was sitting on the edge of the bed, legs dangling a few inches from the ladder they used to get up and down.

"Yeah, I guess there's just too much to think about," the other boy's comment was nearly identical to what Yu had thought moments before. He scooted to the edge of the bed, sitting in a similar fashion.

"That usually doesn't stop you. You're normally out like a log either way," Mika laughed a bit at the comment, finding it humorous. "Maybe you're a vampire."

The suggestion was meant as a joke and he, of course, didn't refer to the vampires that had 'saved' them. The vampires that he had been referring to were the ones in the old stories he had heard about years ago at the orphanage, when Halloween had come around and the children had the rare chance of seeing the streets decorated. Those story-vampires had slept during the day and came out at night. The vampires that 'protected' them seemed like they never slept.

Mika hummed for a moment, swinging his legs a bit before he made his way over to the ladder. "I don't think so," he turned to look at the black-haired boy, "let's get you something to help you sleep."

The suggestion was followed by another irritated sigh, but Yu obliged anyway. It didn't seem like the blonde would give in. The other boy's movements were unnaturally slow again, causing him to inwardly cringe.

They eventually made their way to the small bathroom, if you could even compare it to one. They didn't have a bath, but had found a large enough plastic container that they could bath in. The toilet had to be flushed with a bucket of water, and there was a small cabinet with a mirror.

Mika opened the cabinet, rummaging around in it while Yu leaned against the doorframe. That was another thing that Mika hadn't explained: every time he seemed to come home, he would have obtained food or medicine from some unknown source. Once, the blonde had even come home with two worn blankets, which was – in and of itself – unheard of.

After another minute or so of rummaging, Mika pulled out a small cup and a container filled with a bluish liquid. The label on the container was faded, with only some worn symbols on it that Yu couldn't read. The liquid was down half-way. Mika had come home with it when one of the other children had gotten sick with a bad cold, but they hadn't used it all at the time.

"This should help," a small smile was on Mika's face as he whispered the words. He unscrewed the cap of the contained and poured some of the liquid into the cup, handing it to Yu a moment later.

"Shouldn't you be the one using it, since you're having trouble too?" Yu knew that the boy wouldn't want to 'waste' the liquid, considering that someone could get sick again.

"It's fine," Mika's smile didn't waver, "once you're asleep, I'll soon follow."

The words confused him; did that mean that Mika couldn't sleep because Yu hadn't been able to? But that didn't make sense; Yu was on the verge of falling asleep, so could the other boy have been lying?

As the burning sensation of the liquid ran down his throat, he realized that he couldn't necessarily argue at this time. To be fair, Mika had been through enough that day (despite him not knowing what). As the black-haired boy coughed, the other orphan filled the same cup with water. Another moment later and they were making their way back to the cot.

Yu found that, by the time he lied down again on the bed, his mind was a lot clearer. He felt a bit sleepy, but for some reason he tried to fight it this time. He almost felt as though, if he fell asleep, then Mika wouldn't be there again when he woke up. It was an irrational thought; the other boy's weight on the cot confirmed that.

"Oyasumi, Yu-chan," his green eyes could almost make out another smile at the other boy's words. The orphan closed his eyes, feeling at peace for once.

"Oyasumi," he whispered back as sleep finally took hold of him, ending his insomnia.

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Alright, so this happens after the vampires take over but before the events of the first episode (when the details of Mika's nightly trips are revealed and the escape happens). I wanted to write something for this archive, but had too many ideas at once, so this is the first one. To explain some of the terms for those who don't know:

Gomennasai – a form of "I'm sorry".

Oyasumi – I've heard this in a few other animes and it is most often translated as a shortened version for "Good night".

Yu-chan – Mika calls Yu this as a nickname, so I thought it would be cute to include.

Sorry if anyone was a bit OOC; I'm still working out on how to write these characters, so please let me know how this was! I hope you enjoyed it!

-AnimeWolfGirl9


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